Film Review: The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1960)

Posted by Scott_S on June 19th, 2012

Dr. Jekyll (and Mr. Hyde) must be one of the harder characters to pull off in any believable way. So while I admire Paul Massie’s bravery in this Hammer film version of the character(s), he wasn’t quite able to convince me. I think it’s primarily because of the weird voice he uses while he plays Dr. Jekyll. And how do we explain the fact that he is bearded as Jekyll, but clean-shaven as Hyde?

Dawn Addams and Christopher Lee are well utilized, and as always, the production values are high for a B-grade British flick. I’d have to say the two highlights of the movie are Dawn Addams crashing through a skylight, and the snake dance scene, which ends with a lady putting a snake’s head in her mouth. Kinky much?

Scott studied film and sociology at Indiana University and is currently the video producer for a large publishing company. He is the director of several independent films, including "House of Hope," "Off the Beaten Path," "The Day Joe Left," and "Found." For more about Scott, visit www.scottschirmer.com. Scott is also one of the principal organizers of the Dark Carnival Film Festival. (www.darkcarnivalfilmfest.com)